Six Years
by rmcHolicxxx
Summary: Sure, the boy was really cute and was probably so much younger than her. No, she was NOT a pedophile, but great, that officially made her a cougar.


Author's Notes: Just a little something from writing chapter 5 of Hot Shot. I was reading the manga Puchi Puri by Mishima Kazuhiko and instantly fell in love with the plot. So I decided to make my own fic based on it, because it's so cute! Love really knows no boundaries.

Title: Six Years

Genre: General/Romance

Pairing: Neji/Tenten (plus others)

Rating: M

Summary: Not all of us can resist sweet little boys. All she had to do is wait a few more years for him to grow up. No, she was NOT a pedophile, but great, that officially made her a cougar.

November 20. That was a day she would never forget – the worst day of her entire life.

"_I like you. I really really do. I've liked you ever since I first met you. I've wanted to tell you, but I just couldn't find the courage to. So, Suigetsu-sempai, do you like me too?"_

The words rang through her head over and over again. The only response she received from her confession were his mocking laughs that made her chest ache and a snarl of disgust as she was left all alone with her heart broken. She just liked, maybe loved, him so much.

He was everything she could ever want from a man – tall, brilliant, athletic, kind, and handsome. Rarely did men like that show up in her life, but how wrong she was about him. The way he responded to her confession was hurtful, mean, and very unlike the Suigetsu she knew. He was always so nice to her. She didn't have many friends and thought of him as one. Instead of turning her down gently, he laughed at her in mockery and disgust. He was just another person who hated her, just like everyone else at school.

Bringing her hands to cover her face, she couldn't help but feel stupid. Of course he would react like that. Who would ever like the school weirdo? He probably didn't even care about her. His kindness was just another act to polish his perfect reputation. She truly was so stupid.

It started to rain, and she was still outside, sitting on a bench. She had asked him to meet her there and stayed there after he left. Her body wouldn't move. She didn't run nor walk away. She deserved to be alone – all alone in her misery. The rain poured down on her form, but she didn't care. Tears managed to escape her eyes as well. They were hot against her face, unlike the cold rain. It was only when she thought the rain had stopped that she looked up. To her surprise, a little boy was holding an umbrella over her and tilted his head to her in disapproval. She smiled sadly. He was so cute, despite having such a pale complexion.

"You know. You're going to get sick, if you stay under the rain all night," he said casually. "And if you get sick, you could die from pneumonia or brain fever."

She giggled a bit. "You must know a lot about being sick."

"I want to be the best doctor ever! So that my family and I will never get sick again!"

She continued to giggle. He was such a sweet boy, thinking about his family at such a young age. He was (probably) barely even ten years old.

"You should go home now. Don't cry over that mean man."

Her eyes widened. "You saw that?" How long had the kid been watching?

He looked at her with almost no emotion present. "Yeah, and I couldn't leave you under the rain all alone. No one wants to be alone."

She frowned. "That's very sweet of you, but it's you who should be going home. You don't want your parents to worry, do you? You're just a baby."

The kid looked away in annoyance. "I'm not the one who's crying and just over some guy who turned you down."

She looked down and felt the tears slowly start to build up again. "Some guy, huh?" Some guy she really liked…the only person she ever liked.

The little boy must have noticed her slowly start to cry again, because he began to panic. "Hey, wait! I'm sorry! Don't cry! Please…"

He dropped his umbrella, even though the rain hadn't stopped, and she found his small hands cupping her face. A determined expression played on his face. A smoldering fire danced in his blank stare. It all happened so fast. Before she knew it, the boy kissed her, their lips together, so lightly that it felt almost comforting, but it didn't amuse her the very least.

She turned away and yelled, "What the hell are you doing?"

Her first kiss was just stolen by this tiny little boy. This was so wrong! They were probably six years apart by age! How much more mentally? Seriously, what have kids been learning these days?

Without another thought, she ran away, the boy calling after her.

-xxx-

"Hey, Tenten, are you okay?" Sakura asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up and smiled as she met the pink-haired girl's deep green eyes. "I'm great! Best I've ever been!"

Of course, that was a lie. But she couldn't tell someone how fucked up her life was. Not even to her friends.

"Sakura, come on! Stop talking to that loser and sit over here!" one of the popular girls called.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Tenten. I have to go." Yes, that's right. Sakura was her friend, but only when she wasn't with her popular peer group. Even Tenten could understand that she couldn't afford giving up a chance to become a member of one of the more popular groups in high school.

She continued to sulk in the far corner of the room, eating lunch all by herself. It was nothing unusual for anyone else there. No one ever sat next to her during lunch or recess, nor hung out with her on Friday nights. No one ever invited her to parties. That was the way it was. She was used to it. Even at home, she was always all by herself. Her parents were always too busy to come home to take care of her. No one gave a damn about her.

As she walked back to class, several whispers and snickers about her didn't go unnoticed.

"_Did you here? That loser confessed to Suigetsu-sempai yesterday!"_

"_Really? Oh my gosh, she's such a slut!"_

"_Yeah, totally, she's probably trying to social climb by using Suigetsu!"_

Of course Suigetsu would tell everyone. Who would give up the chance to make fun of her? The whole school probably knew about her ordeal already and because of it, would most likely make fun of her for it until graduation.

She felt the tears build up again and quickly scurried to the rest room. Luckily, no one else was there. She splashed water on her face and examined herself in the mirror. How ugly she looked. No wonder Suigetsu was disgusted with her. She looked terrible! Her hair was so plain and tied in two childish, frizzy buns. Her eyes were too big and with such a plain color as well. Her skin wasn't as fair as the other girls' and wasn't in the best condition it could be (and the reason why she couldn't wear make-up). She was too skinny and lastly, barely had any boobs. Lame and unattractive. Sakura was right. People here didn't care if you were smart or skilled, as long as you looked really good. If you weren't pretty enough for them, you might as well move to a different school. Being ugly was practically a sin.

Tenten sighed and left the bathroom but had to rush back inside, when someone dumped a bucket of red paint on her. She was lucky. Last time, it was chocolate pudding and black hair dye.

-xxx-

Class ended with a few girls throwing scrunched up paper at her and guys making comments on how they'd rather fuck a pig than look at her. While everyone rushed out of the room, she remained in her seat. There were no more tears she could release, so at that moment, all she could do was cover her face and chant over and over again 'why?'.

"Tenten," she recognized the voice. It was Lee, her truest friend and her only friend next to Sakura.

Her hands fell from her face, but she still couldn't look at him. "Lee…"

"Don't listen to them, Tenten. You're very beautiful and strong and ki-"

She grabbed hold of his arm. "It's okay. I'm not going to cry anymore."

He slowly rubbed her back. "I know you won't, Tenten. You're so much stronger than that."

Her hands wrapped him into a hug. "Thanks, Lee." Finally, she looked back at him and smiled sadly.

Later, they walked out of the building, only to be greeted by a little boy – a very familiar one at that.

"You…" Tenten sneered. It was that boy from last night, the one that stole her ever-precious first kiss. If only he were a few years older, she would have smacked him right then and there.

"Miss, I found you! Uncle was right. You did go to this school," he said hurriedly.

"Lee, let's go," she said, moving past the boy. Her friend, confused, silently complied and walked next to her.

"Huh? Miss, wait!"

"Patience…patience…" she mumbled to herself, paying no heed to him, all the while brooding.

The two friends soon came to a junction and went their separate ways, the boy still running behind her. The small tug on her skirt finally made her snap.

She turned and caught him by the shoulders, trying to scare him. "What do you want? Do you want me to beat you up for what you did yesterday?"

He stared at her with wide, purple eyes. It didn't seem like her threats affected him, as he remained calm and collected. "I want to take responsibility for it."

What? Did she actually hear that? He wanted to take responsibility? Was this really a little boy?

Her anger was soon replaced by confusion. "You're a weird kid. Why would you want to take responsibility?"

He tipped his head to the side in a cute fashion, but she WAS NOT going to bite it. He was probably doing it on purpose, sneaky little trickster. She so DID NOT think he was cute. "That was my first kiss too, and I want to take care of you."

Okay…this was getting really weird.

"I didn't like what that mean man did to you, so I made a promise to myself. I would never let that happen to you again. I'll never make you cry, and if I did, I would stay out in the rain all night long, until you forgive me."

There was no way this little boy knew what he was talking about. This was probably some sick joke plotted by someone who really hated her, and now, they were using this kid to make fun of her.

She gritted her teeth and pushed him away. "Stop it! You don't know what your saying!"

"But I-"

"Who told you to say those things to me? I bet it was Karin, wasn't it?"

"No one told me anything. I really like you, miss."

"How could you say you like me? You know nothing about me!"

She was about to storm off again, when his tiny little hands grabbed hers. "Let me prove myself to you! I'll be the best boyfriend you'll ever have!"

Tenten bit her bottom lip and pulled her hand away. "I don't need a boyfriend!"

This time he didn't follow her and didn't call out to her.

-xxx-

The next day, people were surprisingly leaving her alone. Turns out, Sakura had quit being part of the popular group, and now unfortunately, she'd once again become the target for the school bullies. Nobody ever dared to leave that group. Why she had quit, no one knew, but Tenten prayed that she'd be okay, even just for a little while.

She met with the pink-haired girl, during lunch. They were both on the school rooftop. Sakura always came here, when she was upset, and Tenten knew this was the first place to look for her.

"Why'd you quit the group?" she asked, offering some of her food, seeing that her classmates must have dumped Sakura's lunch in the toilet.

They, in a very un-girly manner, sat beside each other cross-legged and against the wall. The brunette brought a piece of egg roll to her lips and chewed slowly, waiting for her friend to answer.

"I…I…just…" she started, her words soft. "I'm not like them. I'm not that kind of person."

To her surprise, Tenten laughed. She laughed damn it! "What's so funny?"

"You finally realized." She gave her a grin and popped another ebi into her mouth. "Sakura, you are the kindest girl in school. There's no way those other girls could change that."

"Tenten, you are such…a pig!" she said before tackling the brunette in a big hug.

"What? After all those beautiful words? I ought to take them back!" she dropped her now empty bento box and hugged her friend in return.

"I've really missed you, pinky."

"I've missed you too, bun-head."

Sakura released herself from the hug and snorted. "Still in buns. Tenten, its time you changed your hairstyle."

"No way! I've had these since forever!" It was true. Ever since she was a little girl, her mother had always put her hair up in buns. She was comfortable with it and wore her hair the same way each day.

Her friend shook her head in disapproval. "You'll change it eventually. What would your fiancé say, if you had it in buns on your wedding day?"

"Sakura!"

They both got up and headed for the stairs. "Are you still mad at me for leaving you?"

Tenten grinned maliciously and poked the other girl in the forehead. "Of course, I am! I was practically friend-less for twelve weeks straight! Not to mention, I had to clean out my hair all by myself!"

"Aww, Tenten! I'm sorry! Forgive me!"

November 22. That was the day she got her friend back.

-xxx-

"_Hey, kid, what's your name?"_

"_Aren't you cute? Whom are you waiting for?"_

"_Do you have a brother or sister that goes to this school?"_

Tenten noticed the girls' tennis club huddled up in the corner. They were hyped up about something. It wasn't her place to mind other peoples' business, so she readjusted her shoulder back and headed out the school gates.

"Wait! Wait, miss!" Looking back was a big mistake. She sighed, might as well get it over with now.

"What do you want know?" she asked, glaring as hard as she could. Again, the boy remained unfazed.

"Let me walk you home," he answered, taking hold of her hand.

She let out a low groan and pulled her hand away. "If I do this, would you stop coming to my school?"

The pale boy was taken aback. "But I want to be a good boyfriend."

"If I let you walk me home today, would you stop coming to my school?" she stated firmly, trying to get her point across.

He looked down, expression unreadable. "Yes."

No more words were exchanged as they walked. She started to actually feel guilty for how harsh she was. He was just a kid. Maybe she should have a talk with his parents? She had no idea how to handle a situation like this. It wasn't everyday that a little boy, way younger than her, wanted to be her boyfriend. Perhaps television was to blame. Soap operas and romantic movies weren't really the best kind of shows for children that young.

"So, it is true," a deep voice spoke behind them.

She stopped immediately, eyes widened in horror. No way… This couldn't be happening.

"You really are desperate. You even went so low as to hook up with a kid."

The younger boy turned to meet whom he recognized as the mean man and frowned. He and his friends started to chuckle darkly. Tenten didn't move one bit, trying to ignore them.

"I guess once you've been dumped, any man would do. You really are a slut."

"SHUT UP, YOU ASSHOLE!" That little boy… That was his voice. It was quickly followed by a cry of pain.

She looked back and was surprised to see Suigetsu dropping to the floor with a loud thud. The little boy had kicked him in the knee and then the side of his head. What the hell?

"Don't you dare say those things about her!" he shouted with such power. Despite him being a kid, it was kind of terrifying but cute at the same time.

"After you made her cry, she never said anything bad about you! Even when it hurt her so much! So you better stop staying such stupid things, because she's my treasure! If you say anything bad about her again, you'll regret it!"

Again…weird…but sweet in a way…

Two of Suigetsu's friends took hold of his shoulders and helped him up. They staggered away as quickly as possible, without giving them a second glance.

"_You okay, man?"_

"_Come on! Let's get out of here."_

Tenten slowly moved forward and gently wiped the tears from the little boy's face. "Don't cry."

He held back his whimpering. "I'm not crying! It's an allergy!"

"You really are just a baby," she giggled. "So cute!"

"I'm ten! I'm not a baby!" he exclaimed, rubbing his eyes roughly with his sleeves.

"You're ten, huh? Well, I'm sixteen, six years older than you."

"But I promise! I'll grow up soon, and I'll become strong! Just for you."

No one had ever been so sweet to her, not even her parents. What was with this kid? How could he just touch her heart like that, with such words? This time, she knew he really meant them. She was sure about that.

She cupped both his cheeks and kissed the top of his head. "So you really want to be my boyfriend?"

He nodded with strong enthusiasm. "I really do! Would you let me be your boyfriend?"

She smiled mischievously and started walking away. "You'll have to be tall enough to kiss me first."

"I will! Both my mommy and daddy are really tall you know. I'll drink lots of milk and even eat all my vegetables now."

The key to a child eating healthy food was love? Still weird…

He took her hand once more and held on tightly. She gave him another smile. "So what's your name, kid?"

"Hyuuga Neji. What's yours?"

"Tenten."

November 20. From having the worst day of her life, she gained her most cherished memory – the day she met Neji.

-xxx-

_Five Years Later…._

Like all good little boys, Neji had kept his promise. He was already four inches taller than she was and just at fifteen years old. However…

"Tenten-chan, I want to do it with you."

She cringed. This was so wrong. This was so very, very wrong.

TBC

Author's Note: How was it? Is it worth continuing? If you people like it, I'd gladly continue and have a lemon in the next chapter. I want to know your opinion. It would be wrong for me to just take it down, so if you like it, please review! Please? Please? Please? Go on. Review!

Vote now!

When should Neji and Tenten get married?

At age 21 and 27

At age 25 and 31

At age 30 and 36

Not get married at all


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